Washington County briefs

The county is holding two public meetings this month at Ruth Ann Monroe Primary School, 1311 Yale Drive, Hagerstown, on two different topics.

The first meeting, on Wednesday, will be an informational meeting about a proposed Yale Drive improvement project. The public can hear a presentation, then ask questions.

The second meeting, on Oct. 24, will be held to talk about problems connected to traffic cutting through Colonial Park to and from Dual Highway. Residents in that area should have received a Sept. 14 letter from the county.

Both meetings will start at 7 p.m.

Public Works Director Joseph Kroboth III clarified the purpose and dates of the two meetings on Tuesday during the county commissioners meeting.

County commissioners briefed on excise tax

The Washington County Board of Commissioners got a briefing on Tuesday about the county’s excise tax.

Jennifer M. Smith, the director of the county’s Division of Plan Review and Permitting, talked about the history of the excise tax in Washington County and how it has changed.

The commissioners had asked in August for a presentation about the excise tax.

Some commissioners have expressed an interest in reducing or eliminating parts or all of the excise, but none raised those possibilities on Tuesday.

Assistant county attorney hired

Kendall A. Desaulniers has been hired as Washington County’s assistant county attorney.

The commissioners approved the hiring on 4-0 on Tuesday, acting on a recommendation by County Attorney John M. Martirano.

Desaulniers will be at grade 17, step 5, putting her salary at $68,893, according to Martirano.

Martirano said Desaulniers probably will start in about three weeks, after she wraps up cases in her private practice in Hagerstown.

In recent years, the county has had a county attorney and two assistant county attorneys.

But when Andrew Wilkinson left one of the assistant positions in July, the county decided to restructure the office.

The other assistant county attorney at the time, Kirk C. Downey, was elevated to the position of deputy county attorney, which included a raise in salary from $87,651 to $91,462.

Martirano said the county received more than 20 applications for the open assistant county attorney position.